No More Monthly AMD Catalyst Updates?

Meh, haven't had a single Nvidia card in my life, I currently use HD5770 and yet I consider AMD's drivers to be by far the weakest part of the package. The .Net dependence is just the cherry on top of their lameness.

No problems with AMD drivers here either. Not like I need to defend them though or bother to mention Nvidia since it's off topic. From what I read AMD's got a new driver team this past December. I could care less if drivers come out every month as long as they release decent drivers. So far, they have.

Honetly in a lot of cases the old drivers end up being better for different games.. It's like making crysis run worse so metro 2033 can run better. Also I have seen drivers desroy video cards. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" comes to mind.

Thank you. The OpenGL crap made me go Nvidia. Now AMD does this?! It will be a long time before I go back red.

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Yea gotta agree Open GL is utter crap on AMD,

paid $630 for a 7970, and my Apps such as

Photoshop, Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3DS Max, Mudbox, etc run like shit, Photoshop is still usuable but the issue with Open GL is so bad that almost all Autodesk products are impossible for me to use, were talking about GPU causing a delay of 15-45 seconds everytime i need to select a single polygon forget about selecting multiple on a 3D mesh,

Hilariously enough free to use apps like Blender 3D work just fine, so i would say Open GL support being crippled on Radeon Hardware isn't so much the driver team sucking more then usual i feel its like nvidia's castrating of floating point performance etc, a way to force users to purchase Quadro or in AMD's case Fire Pro Fire GL w.e the hell they want to call them GPUs, which i just can't do can't see paying $400 for a Fire GL card thats desktop counterpart is a 6770 etc.

If i could go NVIDIA aka GTX 680 right now i would, but thats just not possible on my shitty salary.

So i stand with you TMM if its AMD and its Open GL people need to just turn and walk across the line into the other camp and go Green and like you ive been on the Red team for awhile

Was contemplating picking up a 7800 series, but now not after seeing this.

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Just wondering, why so? Do you prefer AMD pushes out a few beta/hotfix drivers a month that may or may not work for you? I mean, I see this story as good news. They're going to make sure things are "perfect" (for the lack of a better term) before releasing drivers. Do you take this story as AMD giving up or something?

I have used AMD/ATI VGA products almost exclusively since 2002. Over the past 10 years, things have gotten more and more complex...and AMD's drivers have added more and more features, and that in turn has introduced more and more issues.

Since 2004 I have been buying AMD high-end VGAs in pairs or triples, from 9800XT to HD2900XT. I STILL have most of these cards in my posession. With the introduction of the HD2900XT, microstutter became an issue. I spent months and months on forums describing this issue, only to have 99.9% of people say such did not exist.

Today, most people know what Microstutter is.

With the launch of Windows 7, DirectX11, and the HD5870, I bought into AMD's Eyefinity, multiple monitors included, only to hve issues with Cursor corruption on the desktop, flickering secondary monitors, and countless other driver-related issues..issues that are only present in configs such as mine.

I RMA'ed no less than 9 HD5870's because of issues with Eyefinity and Crossfire, and the makers of those cards replAced my cards each and every time, because they noticed the exact same issues.

Since then, I've dropped using multiple monitors, and Crossfire, in most instances, because of the problems with such configurations. This is the "new" technology that AMD is hyping, and it is very much broken.

SIngle card, single monitor, is how I run my rig for gaming currently. I still have multiple monitors, and on every driver release, I do a fresh installation of windows and drivers, to see if the prevailing issues I've had for the last serveral years have been fixed...and they have not.

When Eyefinity was first planned, AMD had external boxes for multi-monitor use planned. These external boxes would have a single connection to the VGA, and then distribute the signal to multiple monitors, using DisplayPort.

Those devices were planned to launch in January 2010, called "MST hubs"(multi-stream transport hubs), have yet to hit the consumer market; a key part of the Eyefinity puzzle that has failed to make it to market, and lo and behold, my Eyefinity configuration, as advised by AMD, has failed as well.

Of course, most users aren't using Eyefinity, or multiple monitors, so would have no idea that this tech is very much broken, but it is borken, and it's not just me saying so. I am very glad to hear some users have no problems, but to deny there are long-standing driver problems that have lasted for years, unfortunately, is very foolish.

I used to post here that I was AMD's number 1 fanboy...my opinion has since changed. I have directly asked AMD for help, and they could provide none. Now I have invested into their tech, I feel ripped off, and many things that were promised, never materialized.

And I'll add, with a single monitor, and a single VGA...I don't have many problems either. There are a few, but they are very minor at this point. But that said, I stil lahve thousands of dolalrs of hardware here that AMD marketed as a working solution, yet they cannot help me get it working.

IF them slowing the release of drivers helps fix these issues, then fine, I'll be very happy with that, but if it doesn't, and these issues continue to exist, I think AMD needs to fire the current driver team, and get some fresh blood.

Anyone who would like to see proof of these issues, let me know. I'd be more than happy to put up videos showing them when I get some time, and I'd be far more than willing to try any fixes possible. At this point I have given up on AMD...both for CPUs, and for VGAs. I'm not about to go and buy into nVidia...but I definitely won't be buying anything form AMD any time soon, either! IF anything, I'll buy nVidia, just in spite, because AMD has promised much, and failed to deliver for me..,time and time again.

Just wondering, why so? Do you prefer AMD pushes out a few beta/hotfix drivers a month that may or may not work for you? I mean, I see this story as good news. They're going to make sure things are "perfect" (for the lack of a better term) before releasing drivers. Do you take this story as AMD giving up or something?

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Yes, for me personally, this says AMD has given up on things. I stil lahve issues existing from years ago, that they have not fixed. TO say they will release less "fixes", less frequently, when I stil have existing issues, can only mean that to me. I've been waiting for years..literal YEARS..and now they say I have to wait longer?

Just wondering, why so? Do you prefer AMD pushes out a few beta/hotfix drivers a month that may or may not work for you? I mean, I see this story as good news. They're going to make sure things are "perfect" (for the lack of a better term) before releasing drivers. Do you take this story as AMD giving up or something?

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Not necessarily. Only reason I haven't been on AMD/ATi for a long time is due to drivers. Just my choice. Not only that, the 460's game fine for me. I was 50/50 on it before this.

"With the release of the Catalyst 12.6 Beta driver, AMD would also like to announce that we are moving away from our Monthly Catalyst release plan. Our goal is to ensure that every Catalyst release delivers a substantial benefit to our end users; as we have today with the release of the Catalyst 12.6a Beta. We will still continue with the Catalyst naming convention; Catalyst: Year.Month., You just won’t see a new driver every single month. We are confident that this will only benefit the end user; you’ll only need to upgrade to a new Catalyst driver, when it makes sense." - AMD PR

"With the release of the Catalyst 12.6 Beta driver, AMD would also like to announce that we are moving away from our Monthly Catalyst release plan. Our goal is to ensure that every Catalyst release delivers a substantial benefit to our end users; as we have today with the release of the Catalyst 12.6a Beta. We will still continue with the Catalyst naming convention; Catalyst: Year.Month., You just won’t see a new driver every single month. We are confident that this will only benefit the end user; you’ll only need to upgrade to a new Catalyst driver, when it makes sense." - AMD PR

yup, im as of now looking for a GTX 680, or a GTX 670 that i can trade my 7970 for now that ive got it clocking well, thanks to Sapphire TriXX

for Games single gpu single monitor have had no issues with AMD

its the minority stuff they tend to suck and suck hard at aka eyefinity broken, open gl in proffessinal apps broken, etc etc that tends to be my problem, gaming wise i love my AMD card i really do lets me play a bunch of games that do not work period on Nvidia hardware.

"With the release of the Catalyst 12.6 Beta driver, AMD would also like to announce that we are moving away from our Monthly Catalyst release plan. Our goal is to ensure that every Catalyst release delivers a substantial benefit to our end users; as we have today with the release of the Catalyst 12.6a Beta. We will still continue with the Catalyst naming convention; Catalyst: Year.Month., You just won’t see a new driver every single month. We are confident that this will only benefit the end user; you’ll only need to upgrade to a new Catalyst driver, when it makes sense." - AMD PR

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So, if they are gonig to test drivers more intensely before relase, that is good. Now if they can fix this issues that has affected myself and other multi-monitor users first, that'd be great. Please tell your AMD contact I will be impatiently waiting for a fix.

lol tell that to my boss then dave i didnt do that news post, i was going to but i asked for clarification before hand, the above is that clarification lulz i had nothing to do with this one, im just posting the PR spin from AMD and what they have to say on it.

everyone kinda jumped the gun on this news it was suppose to be under NDA but it leaked so we posted the full news and slides etc honesty i dont care tired of AMD's assurances and telling me my problems will get fixed and they never do, ill just buy Nvidia from now on sad as it is ive no choice.

lol tell that to my boss then dave i didnt do that news post, i was going to but i asked for clarification before hand, the above is that clarification lulz i had nothing to do with this one, im just posting the PR spin from AMD and what they have to say on it.

everyone kinda jumped the gun on this news it was suppose to be under NDA but it leaked so we posted the full news and slides etc honesty i dont care tired of AMD's assurances and telling me my problems will get fixed and they never do, ill just buy Nvidia from now on sad as it is ive no choice.

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That's what I did. Got tired of the crap shoot with their OpenGL. I went green and have been through three drivers and they have been flawless thus far.

lol tell that to my boss then dave i didnt do that news post, i was going to but i asked for clarification before hand, the above is that clarification lulz i had nothing to do with this one, im just posting the PR spin from AMD and what they have to say on it.

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An AMD rep posted the source of the inforation on Rage3d forums. There was never any NDA on this story/information.

lol tell that to my boss then dave i didnt do that news post, i was going to but i asked for clarification before hand, the above is that clarification lulz i had nothing to do with this one, im just posting the PR spin from AMD and what they have to say on it.

everyone kinda jumped the gun on this news it was suppose to be under NDA but it leaked so we posted the full news and slides etc honesty i dont care tired of AMD's assurances and telling me my problems will get fixed and they never do, ill just buy Nvidia from now on sad as it is ive no choice.

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Well ,as you know, I have dual 5850's here, still getting cursor corruption and crazy flicker on secondary monitors, worse tha nmy 6-series cards. For a product on the market for nearly 3 years, that's unacceptable for a high-end user like myself. To be honest, I have resigned myself to the fact that since it's been 3 years this issue has existed, there must be something wrong with the hardware itself, and there's nothing I can do about that. I wish I would have known about this long ago, and wasn't stuck waiting for a fix that will never come for a very expensive purchase i made becuase i thought AMD could deliver.

I even offered to ship the whole rig to AMD at my expense. It's not like I got a shortage of hardware.

Anyway, i thought the whole point of AMD adding the APP to the driver package was so that driver updates were no longer neccesary, and in lieu of driver updates, just a new APP was required. That, to me, is a very viable alternative, to release APPs every month, and core driver updates when needed. However, the core driver is still broken for me.

There is a beta driver we are testing right now that fixes the Eyefinity tearing on the third monitor when mixing outputs. I have verified that it works with Souther Islands based cards, so I don’t know if it will work with previous cards. Anyway, if no major issues are found, this driver should be publicly available next week.

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I will beleive after the driver comes out, and I get to test it. I've been waiting for such since the 5870 launch in 2009, nearly 3 years ago. This bit of info in itself validates everything I posted about above. If AMD can finally fix this issue..both on my 5850's, and 6950's, then I will be happy. But they said it woudl be fixed inteh past, and it wasn't, so I will not be so quick to trust them this time, and waiting 3 years for such a fix is just...crazy...

ive used both over the past decade and i never had any problem of any kind.

Too many think they are enthousiasts when they spend alot of money on SLI/crossfire/eyefinity and expect exotic setups to work out of the box 24/7 in every case.

Dont want any issues? buy a single card cause you dont need more than one, and you can only focus on one screen at once.

there i reduced most of issues people have.

for the past 10 years ive installed for either brand always the newest drivers and never did i see a crash or bluescreen on stock voltage and clocks in my life. Learn to take care of your windows installation, learn how to install and uninstall hardware and software properly.

So tired of people so emotionally involved in computer hardware/software, if you hate AMD drivers please buy nvidia and shut the fuck up on the forums about it, it doesnt hurt me if you buy nvidia, and this goes otherway around also.

I build systems not for a living but i do build alot of systems to help ppl out, whenever one of their know it all friends that either brand sucks or drivers sucks i tell them to go on my very own computer and show me a single bug, i got a ton of games, they can play any game , use any setting, i dare them to find any fault in the drivers.......

And thats when everyone goes quiet and i tell them to listen to me cause i am an enthousiast, i love playing with hardware and software, instead of complaining on forums i fix things myself where possible. and i tell them neither driver sucks, and does everythign you want it to do.

if you buy a card check your wallet, how much do you want to spend on it? what performance do you NEED ? then you go to the local shop or computer website and you buy whatever your wallet allows and / or what performance you need.

That simple, no one is gonna change their mind on this forum what card they want to buy cause you spam every single thread how much you "suffered" cause you suck at computers

Great for you, but AMD says such is working, when it doesn't. That is not a fix..that's outright fraud. In the country i live in, I could sue..and this is not the US were frivolous lawsuits make it to court. AMD sold products with features and such described on the packaging..that does not work as advertized. That is not legal here, regardless of your "fix".

I am a high-end user, and yes, I want AMD to meet my needs as such a user. It's people like me, after all, that provide them with money to develop this stuff in the first place. If you ask me for money for something, I expect it to work as advertized, period. That's covered by law, in fact.

That simple, no one is gonna change their mind on this forum what card they want to buy cause you spam every single thread how much you "suffered" cause you suck at computers

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Unfortunately, I don't suck at computers. I have literal 100's of thousands of dollars of education in how PCs work, and I put that into practice each day with my reviews. AMD's solutions, in many instances are broken, and just because you don't like to hear about it, doesn't make it any less important. I post about the iissues that I have so that other users, when confronted wit hthe same problems, don't look elsewhere for causes. You may see this as bashing AMD, I see it as doing the community a service.

I hope AMD is not doing things like Creative Labs do with the Soundblaster drivers, i.e. "when it's done" approach, without an ETA. I thought there is a dedicated team now for the AMD/ATI Catalyst drivers since early this year, while AMD has already announced they will put the HD 2000 - HD 4000 series in the legacy support for Linux and later for Windows. And their last Catalyst 12.4 is not flawless at all.

Great for you, but AMD says such is working, when it doesn't. That is not a fix..that's outright fraud. I Nteh country i lvie in, I could sue..and this is not the US were frivolous lawsuits make it to court. AMD sold products with features and such described on teh packaging..that does not work. That is not legal here, regardless of your "fix".

I am a hig-end user, and yes, I want AMD to meet my needs as suc ha user. It's people like me, after all ,that provide them with money to develpo this stuff in the first place. I you ask me for moeny for something, I epxect it to work as advertized, period. That's covered by law, in fact.